Nerds Without Pants Episode 104: The State of the Generation 2016

It’s the last Nerds Without Pants of the year, and in one last screw you from 2016, we’re a man down. Worry not, because we recruited Mike Fallek from the Go to Hell Podcast to chime in on the state of the gaming generation for 2016. So let’s jump right in!

We talk about the Nintendo Switch: is it the final nail in the coffin, or the salvation of Nintendo? We also talk about issues with cable TV, 4K televisions, the jump to PlayStation 4 Pro, and more. Finally, we close with a healthy debate regarding VR, and what its future (if there is one) could be.

And that’s a year! We have a couple specials coming out, and will return to our regular schedule in mid-January. Thanks to every listener! We love you all.

Comments

Michael117

12/28/2016 at 06:28 AM

2016 sucked, but it was the best year of NWP ever, so that's a silver lining you guys should be proud of. The production quality of the show went way up, and on top of that it was the most entertaining year yet for me. Great guests, topics, specials, and the format changes really worked out well if you look back.

In years past it was a little lonely commenting here, but in 2016 way more people started interacting with the show and now most of the time when I come to bring the wall of text there are like a dozen people that have beat me to it, and that's not even counting all the interaction from social media. I think it's awesome. Segments or formats that get listeners involved is working out pretty well and I hope we do much more in 2017. Whatever ideas you guys get for the show in the new year, whatever turns you on creatively, just go for it. There's a receptive and growing fanbase here just waiting to reach out.

My state of gaming in 2016 was a story of change. I made the switch to PC gaming early in the year with a mid-tier laptop produced in 2015. I fell in love and it's become the new normal for me. It's good that I'm a computer person and the fuss I have to go through doesn't bother me as much. I look for deals on Steam, GoG, and Humble Bundle regularly and I've been able to buy way more games and for way cheaper than I ever found on my 360. I learned how to install mods and alter game files as well. But the thing that perplexed me the most is that I also started playing my FPS games with keyboard and mouse after I experimented with it, which I thought would be impossible at first. I still prefer to play 3rd person games with a controller so I bought an XB1 gamepad that I use, but for first person games I love having keyboard and mouse because the mouse gives me precise control over where I look and it's faster. As a side note, that XB1 controller is super comfortable, the money they put into R&D and the ways they improved the 360 controller design was clearly worth it.

I didn't assimilate to the Borg and join the master race proper though. I played games my whole life on console up till now and I was just fine. In fact, this was the year I bought back into Playstation for the first time since my original PS2 around 14 years ago. Late this year I grabbed a PS4 Pro, which seems like a bad investment for people who have regular PS4's, but it's perfect for somebody like me who hadn't bought into the current generation yet. The Dualshock 4 is super comfortable too. The controller R&D that Microsoft and Sony both did was super fruitful and they delivered us two of the best gamepads ever, perhaps.

So I primarily play on PC with an XB1 controller and my PS4 is a thing on the side that I really wanted to have for exclusives, which sounds weird since there are so few. I don't want to be kept away from Red Dead Redemption 2 (which isn't coming to PC supposedly) and Horizon Zero Dawn. On top of that there's a whole bunch of PS3 remasters and collections that I missed out on but I can now take advantage of on PS4. I already finished The Last of Us Remastered and that was almost single-handedly worth the price of admission. One of the best stories ever, decidedly the best lighting model I've ever seen, and it's full of stealth which is my favorite genre. That was the perfect game to break-in my new PS4 Pro and I got it on sale for $10.

Julian Titus
Senior Editor

01/06/2017 at 03:59 PM

As always, thank you for the incredibly kind words, Michael. You've been with us since the beginning, and I always appreciate your feedback. We're on an extended holiday break to play some more of the 2016 releases, but I have big things planned for this year.

I'm going to be getting a new laptop to handle audio and video editing, which means it should be able to tackle some more recent games. I might mess around with my Steam account a little more when that happens, but I love me my Xbox One S.

transmet2033

01/12/2017 at 07:02 PM

I'm going to have to listen to this episode again... I meant to comment weeks back, but now I don't remember what I wanted to say

Super Step

01/26/2017 at 06:35 PM

Overwatch made so many top lists and it just ... doesn't appeal to me. I haven't played it mind you, but nothing has made me excited for it. To me, it just looks like a standard 3rd person shooter with a strong online component.

If Nintendo's for kids, I'm fine with being 12 at heart. I can agree with a lot of the criticisms of the company, but fuck me, I still find their games charming. Though I agree with "samey" critiques of their games and it amazes me how they keep managing to boggle Star Fox (I liked Adventures at the time and Assault was decent, to be fair). Having said that, I'll let the innovators/early adopters test the Switch for me before I decide I HAVE to play Breath of the Wild ... which to me looks like it has a fairly empty open world. I'm actually most excited for that 3D rumble feature, but not for $70-$80 a controller.

Don't play REVII in VR ... it's scary enough as it is. At least the demo was for me. It was refreshing, because most horror media has just bored me lately. I still want to try VR myself, but I keep hearing about motion sickness. And yes, it's too expensive, even the "cheap" PSVR.

I don't understand having cable TV when Netflix exists ...

I just checked alexa. Pornhub's not even in the top 10, whether global or U.S. Top 3 tend to be Google, YouTube, Facebook.

The potential for either company to stop supporting the hardware is the second biggest barrier of entry for me in regards to Switch and VR, behind price. Though I think Switch will be a hit, and PSVR is selling better than I thought it would.

I only care about DLC that adds single player story content. This was especially true for Arkham Knight. I don't care about skins, maps, weapons, challenge modes, just give me more story-driven gameplay content.

Julian Titus
Senior Editor

02/01/2017 at 04:27 PM

Overwatch does an excellent job of making you feel useful, even if you're dragging the team down. Beyond that it handles well, and the presentation is in line with Blizzard's overall aesthetic. It's probably not for everybody, but if a single player hermit like me can enjoy it maybe you should check out one of those free weekends when they come around.

Resident Evil VII doesn't appeal to me at all. I talk about it in episode 105, but I'm not digging the invincible backwoods family thing. Seems like a rejected idea for Cabin in the Woods.

Super Step

02/01/2017 at 05:21 PM

Didn't know about the free weekends. If one pops up on PS Store, I'll try it.

I can understand what you're saying about REVII, but the atmosphere in that demo messed with my head. It shouldn't have, because how am I going down a ladder with both hands when I'm supposedly holding a camcorder used for a TV show? But it did.

Looking back at my comment, I wonder how much worker productivity will drop when VR porn becomes accessible in the mainstream ...

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